Latest news with #SusanClose
Courier-Mail
18 hours ago
- Business
- Courier-Mail
South Australia puts pause on plastic fruit sticker ban after concerns over cost concerns
Don't miss out on the headlines from Environment. Followed categories will be added to My News. South Australia has delayed the rollout of a nation-leading ban on plastic fruit stickers over fears the cost will be too much for farmers. The state was set to become the first jurisdiction in the country to make the environmentally-friendly move in September, with NSW looking at a similar ban. But the South Australian State Government has paused their rollout and now says both states will work together to save money, following concerns fruit and vegetable producers were doing it tough and the cost of new stickers would make it more difficult for them to continue to provide to SA markets. Any fruit being imported into South Australia will need an eco-friendly sticker when the ban eventually comes into force. 'NSW already had a commitment that they would get rid of these plastic fruit stickers and move to compostable by 2030 — our discussion will be how much sooner than that can we go,' SA Environment Minister Susan Close said. 'We will be able to get rid of these (stickers) which, admittedly, everybody hates … but I didn't want to cause disruption in supermarkets for people wanting to buy products and I didn't want to cause too much harm to our local producers either.' Laser etching is one way to display varietal and barcode information in an environmentally friendly way. Picture: NewsWire The alternative to plastic fruit stickers are either compostable labels, uncoated paper stickers or laser etchings. SA taking the lead to cut out plastic stickers meant farmers would be squeezed; compostable stickers are about twice the price, and any fruit sold in the state would need to adhere, regardless if it was grown interstate. But the eco-friendly September 1 deadline will still bring anti-plastic changes. From September in SA, plastic fish-shaped soy sauce bottles are banned, as are plastic cutlery and straws which come attached to food and drinks, such as straws on juice boxes. South Australia was the first state to ban light weight plastic shopping bags, which came into effect in 2009; Victoria and then NSW were the last to follow suit, more than a decade later. Originally published as South Australia puts pause to plastic fruit sticker ban over fears of extra cost to farmers
Mercury
20 hours ago
- Business
- Mercury
South Australia puts pause on plastic fruit sticker ban after concerns over cost concerns
Don't miss out on the headlines from Environment. Followed categories will be added to My News. South Australia has delayed the rollout of a nation-leading ban on plastic fruit stickers over fears the cost will be too much for farmers. The state was set to become the first jurisdiction in the country to make the environmentally-friendly move in September, with NSW looking at a similar ban. But the South Australian State Government has paused their rollout and now says both states will work together to save money, following concerns fruit and vegetable producers were doing it tough and the cost of new stickers would make it more difficult for them to continue to provide to SA markets. Any fruit being imported into South Australia will need an eco-friendly sticker when the ban eventually comes into force. 'NSW already had a commitment that they would get rid of these plastic fruit stickers and move to compostable by 2030 — our discussion will be how much sooner than that can we go,' SA Environment Minister Susan Close said. 'We will be able to get rid of these (stickers) which, admittedly, everybody hates … but I didn't want to cause disruption in supermarkets for people wanting to buy products and I didn't want to cause too much harm to our local producers either.' Laser etching is one way to display varietal and barcode information in an environmentally friendly way. Picture: NewsWire The alternative to plastic fruit stickers are either compostable labels, uncoated paper stickers or laser etchings. SA taking the lead to cut out plastic stickers meant farmers would be squeezed; compostable stickers are about twice the price, and any fruit sold in the state would need to adhere, regardless if it was grown interstate. But the eco-friendly September 1 deadline will still bring anti-plastic changes. From September in SA, plastic fish-shaped soy sauce bottles are banned, as are plastic cutlery and straws which come attached to food and drinks, such as straws on juice boxes. South Australia was the first state to ban light weight plastic shopping bags, which came into effect in 2009; Victoria and then NSW were the last to follow suit, more than a decade later. Originally published as South Australia puts pause to plastic fruit sticker ban over fears of extra cost to farmers
News.com.au
21 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
South Australia puts pause to plastic fruit sticker ban over fears of extra cost to farmers
South Australia has delayed the rollout of a nation-leading ban on plastic fruit stickers over fears the cost will be too much for farmers. The state was set to become the first jurisdiction in the country to make the environmentally-friendly move in September, with NSW looking at a similar ban. But the South Australian State Government has paused their rollout and now says both states will work together to save money, following concerns fruit and vegetable producers were doing it tough and the cost of new stickers would make it more difficult for them to continue to provide to SA markets. 'NSW already had a commitment that they would get rid of these plastic fruit stickers and move to compostable by 2030 — our discussion will be how much sooner than that can we go,' SA Environment Minister Susan Close said. 'We will be able to get rid of these (stickers) which, admittedly, everybody hates … but I didn't want to cause disruption in supermarkets for people wanting to buy products and I didn't want to cause too much harm to our local producers either.' The alternative to plastic fruit stickers are either compostable labels, uncoated paper stickers or laser etchings. SA taking the lead to cut out plastic stickers meant farmers would be squeezed; compostable stickers are about twice the price, and any fruit sold in the state would need to adhere, regardless if it was grown interstate. But the eco-friendly September 1 deadline will still bring anti-plastic changes. From September in SA, plastic fish-shaped soy sauce bottles are banned, as are plastic cutlery and straws which come attached to food and drinks, such as straws on juice boxes. South Australia was the first state to ban light weight plastic shopping bags, which came into effect in 2009; Victoria and then NSW were the last to follow suit, more than a decade later.
ABC News
21-05-2025
- ABC News
Friends of Sceale Bay celebrate 20 years preserving SA wilderness
It is hard to fathom that 15 years ago, plans were afoot to develop a 156-room casino resort and fish farm near a rare Australian sea lion sanctuary at Point Labatt on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula. Residents and a group called Friends of Sceale Bay fought against the proposals and won. The group, established years before the casino battle, has spent two decades relentlessly pursuing formal conservation areas that have created a wildlife legacy. The Friends of Sceale Bay group has five official members, supported by other residents and holiday home owners for conservation projects. They work out of the small seaside hamlet of Sceale Bay, 25 kilometres south of Streaky Bay. The group has successfully lobbied for permanent protection of four land parcels in the area, coining the phrase Chain of Bays to define the coastal environment. They recently celebrated another win, after SA Climate, Environment and Water Minister Susan Close added more land to the Sceale Bay Conservation Park, increasing it by about a third. Ms Close said the state and federal governments had a "30 by 30 commitment," aiming to protect 30 per cent of Australia's landmass and marine areas by 2030 and halt biodiversity loss. The Department of Environment and Water manages about 23 million hectares of national parks and wilderness protection areas, which comprise about 22 per cent of the state's land. The Friends of Sceale Bay have helped add the newest parcel of Crown land, creating a corridor of protection for the coastal ecosystems of the Chain of Bays area. "This is just extra dune country being put into the park, which is well-covered with native vegetation and there's a number of birds and other animal species in that area as well," Friends of Sceale Bay Adelaide convener David Kirner said. "It was privately owned and in 2015 the government purchased it, and over the last 10 years they've done all the various things that they need to do to include it in the park. "It is home to rare and endangered species like the Australian sea lion, eastern osprey and the white-bellied sea eagle. "We've been chipping away for 20 years to protect unique ecosystems along the Chain of Bays from Streaky Bay to Venus Bay." The majority of the protected parcels of land are accessed by dirt roads hugging a coastal wilderness of low-lying shrubs, salt lakes, dunes, ocean-facing cliffs, inlets and surf beaches, broken by sparse paddocks of cropping and sheep. The Friends of Sceale Bay have rolled up their sleeves and weeded, planted trees, filled out grant applications and lobbied successive governments to create more conservation park areas. "We have the view that the best way to preserve the environment, save the environment, is to actually take action and get involved, and get your hands dirty," Mr Kirner said. "We did Caring for Country grants — there was work done with the Ceduna Aboriginal Corporation, large-scale direct seeding within the areas that ended up becoming parks. The aim is to link the protected Chain of Bays areas — at the moment they are separated by land allotments held by private owners, farmers, the District Council of Streaky Bay and the government. The West Coast Marine Park hugs the coastline, and along the landscape the current conservation parks include Point Labatt (51 hectares), Calpattana Waterhole (3,644ha), Searcy Bay (868ha), Sceale Bay (527ha) and Cape Blanche (810ha). Sceale Bay was initially named Yanera in 1888 and was settled as a farming port with a jetty that was demolished in 1972. Today the town, with a population of 58 at the 2021 Census, has remained largely undeveloped, protected by its isolation at a time when coastal properties and development are booming. "When you look at the tourist numbers [visiting the region] it's in the thousands," Mr Kirner said. "You do get a lot of people coming in by caravan, people coming in during school holidays, and places like Point Labatt where the sealions are … they have quite large visitor numbers. It is a rare place where — with a little assistance — nature has won some battles, including the conversion of a former caravan park into a block for wildlife. Mr Kirner is now planning to lobby for the expansion of conservation parks at Cape Blanche, Searcy Bay and Point Labatt, as well as expanding the Sceale Bay park to include Yanerbie Dunes. The group would also like to see Smooth Pool, a popular snorkelling spot, developed as a conservation park and aquatic reserve. In a statement, the Department for Environment and Water said it worked collaboratively with the Friends of Sceale Bay. "We value their interest and dedication to the region," the statement read.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Why Are Sharks Attacking Like Crazy in South Australia?
Richard Vinall was in the midst of his morning routine, a swim at Port Noarlunga, last week, when the 60-something-year-old man was attacked by a shark. He was bitten on the thigh, badly. After being treated on the beach, he was transported to the hospital where he remains in critical condition. This was just the latest in a surge of attacks, sightings, and curious behavior from sharks on South Australia's coastline. The area has a history of being sharky. But this is something different. And now, officials believe they know why – or at least a contributing factor – to the spike in attacks. Speaking with ABC, Deputy Premier Susan Close, (and also the state's environment minister) named a huge, toxic algal bloom as the culprit for sharks 'not behaving normally.' She continued: 'They're more numerous along our metropolitan coastline than we normally expect to see and also they appear to be in some distress and there's some talk of them being more aggressive.' The apparent algal bloom – which is harmful to marine life, even causing neurological damage – is the size of Kangaroo Island off South Australia. That's more than triple the size of Los a 10-foot great white shark found itself stranded in shallow water at a South Australia beach. Locals waded out to the shark, and helped it back to sea, using only their bare hands. Speaking to the aberrant nature of such an incident, one of the rescuers recounted: 'The tide was on its way out, and it looked to be confused.' In that scenario, luckily, nobody was nipped. And soon after, another 10-foot great white beached itself at a different South Australia beach. This one could not be saved. As one witness said, 'It was struggling. It was rolling around. Its belly was up. It looked like it was pretty sick.'Looking back over the last two years, it hasn't just been sharks washing ashore sick and confused. Two surfers have been killed in South Australia. Earlier this year, 28-year-old Lance Appleby was taken by a shark while surfing Granites Beach on the Eyre Peninsula, and his body was never found; then, in 2023, 15-year-old Khai Cowley was attacked and killed while surfing Ethel Beach. Watch out, South Australians. It's getting seriously sharky down there.
